In mid October, the Victorian Coalition government quietly released it's Energy Plan. There has been no environment policy released as such, which means we have to judge the government's intention on the documents that are in the public realm, and correspondence received from the Minister for the Environment and Climate Change.

The Energy Plan talks up renewable energy, yet there is very little incentive or direction on either renewables or energy efficiency. And it has raised the prospect of a coal export industry.

If you’re concerned about environmental issues and the urgent need to rapidly reduce the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, it’s hard not to get depressed.

The Australian government is cutting climate action programs and turning it’s back on environmental protection, and here in Victoria, our government wants to open up new coal mines while shutting down renewable energy across much of the state.

But across regional Australia, a new movement is building power and starting to win against the coal and gas companies and their friends in government. We want to share this good news story.

The NSW State governments plan to run a trial of “ecological thinning” inside the Murray Valley National Park. The trial will use logging machinery to test weather cutting out trees from these River Red Gum forests will improve the health of the ecosystem. The project will have a range of impacts on this landscape of international significance.

Approval has just been given by Environment Minister Greg Hunt for the NSW Government to go ahead with the trial.

Friends of the Earth is asking for your help to keep logging out of our iconic River Red Gum forests and to safeguard the natural environments we all love.

The plan has drawn criticism from renewable energy advocates at Friends of the Earth.

The government’s plan takes a “business as usual” approach that fails Victorians. The plan alludes to greater reliance on coal electricity generation, and continued allocation of public funds to find new uses for our dirty brown coal.

The Green Pledge is a new Friends of the Earth campaign that involves taking 5 personal actions for one week to limit your carbon emissions to 50% of the average Australian. By getting friends and family to sponsor you for your efforts, you can raise awareness and funds to help tackle climate change. This year The Green Pledge is taking place from the 17th-23rd of October. Funds from these donations go directly to Friends of the Earth and all contributions are tax deductible. Check out The Green Pledge website here!

The Coalition government and ALP continue to refuse to rule out a new allocation of brown coal reserves for new mines in the Latrobe Valley. The Coalition holds the view that Victoria could even have a brown coal export industry.

The environmental, climate and public health costs of new coal mines will be enormous.